The History Of Sri Lanka From The Earliest Times To The Present Sri Lanka Is An Ancient Civilization, Shaped And Thrust Into The Modern Globalizing World By Its Colonial Experience. With Its Own Unique Problems, Many Of Them Historical Legacies, It Is A Nation Trying To Maintain A Democratic, Pluralistic State Structure While Struggling To Come To Terms With Separatist Aspirations. This Is A Complex Story, And There Is Perhaps No Better Person To Present It In Reasoned, Scholarly Terms Than K.M. De Silva, Sri Lanka S Most Distinguished And Prolific Historian. A History Of Sri Lanka, First Published In 1981, Has Established Itself As The Standard Work On The Subject. This Fully Revised Edition, In Light Of The Most Recent Research, Brings The Story Right Up To The Early Years Of The Twenty-First Century. The Book Provides Comprehensive Coverage Of All Aspects Of Sri Lanka S Development From A Classical Buddhist Society And Irrigation Economy, To Its Emergence As A Tropical Colony Producing Some Of The World S Most Important Cash Crops, Such As Cinnamon, Tea, Rubber And Coconut, And Finally As An Asian Democracy. It Is A Study Of The Political Vicissitudes Of Sri Lanka S Ancient Civilization And The Successive Phases Of Portuguese, Dutch And British Colonial Rule. The Unfortunate Consequences Of Becoming A Centre Of Ethnic Tension And Sri Lanka S Long-Standing Relationship With India Are Also Discussed. Exhaustively Researched And Analytical, This Book Is An Invaluable Reference Source For Students Of Ancient, Colonial And Post-Colonial Societies, Ethnic Conflict And Democratic Transitions, As Well As For All Those Who Simply Want To Get A Feel Of The Rich And Varied Texture Of Sri Lanka S Long History.

This study of Dutch and British colonial intervention on Sri Lanka in the period 1780 - 1815 provides a new over-all characterisation of the functioning and growth of the colonial state in a period of transition.

Sri Lanka in the Modern Age recounts the modern history of the island in an accessible yet unconventional manner. Where other histories have tended to focus on the state's failure to accommodate the needs and demands of minority communities, Wickramasinghe places their claims alongside the political, social and economic demands of other communities, parties, associations and groups, tracing their lineages to the colonial period. This updated second edition carries the book into the present, covering the brutal end of Sri Lanka's civil war and the making of oppressive stability that has grown in its wake. Drawing on recent work as well as on her own research in the field, Wickramasinghe has written above all a history of the people of Sri Lanka rather than a history of the nation-state.

Taking a thematic, rather than country by country approach, this new two-volume work examines the monumental changes experienced by mainland and island Asia. Volume 1 covers early Asian history, from prehistory to the early nineteenth century.

Moving away from orthodox narratives of the Raj and British presence in India, this book examines the significance of the networks and connections that South Asians established on British soil. Looking at the period 1858-1950, it presents readings of cultural history and points to the urgent need to open up the parameters of this field of study.